Donation bid for Birmingham charity

Ammalife is a Birmingham based medical charity that funds overseas projects to aid maternal health care. It is run by doctors and nurses in the city at the Women’s Hospital with projects in Asia and Africa. This week it launches its Christmas Appeal to raise cash to save lives.

Maria Gee, a spokeswoman for Ammalife, said: “This year we are tackling sepsis in childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa.

“For 72 hours this week your donation will be matched pound for pound by our Charity Champions at the Big Give Christmas Challenge. We need to raise £2,250 in those 72 hours to release the matching money.”

Mrs Gee added: “Sepsis – when infection overwhelms the body and vital organs begin to shut down – is a killer but, here in the UK, we’ve led the world in developing the Sepsis 6 ‘care bundle’. Within the first hour of suspecting sepsis, three interventions and three tests are carried out and this speedy response has doubled survival rates. This model has now been adopted widely across the western world and many lives have been saved.”

She continued: “If we can raise £4,500 next week, we’re a good way towards our target for supporting this essential and life-saving research work. The funds we’ve raised to date have covered the most basic of expenses. As the project enters its pilot phase the costs will increase as we employ midwives in Malawi and provide consumables like charts to record vital signs.”

The donation period is from noon Tuesday-noon Friday. To learn more about Ammalife visit www.ammalife.org